Wednesday, October 27, 2010

You might think that Los Angeles with an unemployment rate of 13.7% in September might want to encourage people to start small businesses and earn a living for themselves, or, better yet, start small businesses and create new jobs for others as well as themselves. But, that doesn’t seem to be the case according to The Wall Street Journal. Have big government regulations on small businesses gone way overboard? Are regulations helping to keep unemployment high? And, importantly, are they also holding back the American economy?

Here are some facts from the study. In Los Angeles, if you lose your job and you want to make some money, you might think of starting a business. In LA, if you want to earn some money hanging wallpaper, trimming trees, or building fences, you must first obtain a license called a “speciality contractor” license. But, don’t think you can count on getting that license in a day or a week. It can take years! Suppose you have a flair for clothing and want to design and make hip clothes for teenagers. Sorry to say. But, in LA, you need a garment manufacturer’s license... still other examples of enterprise-crippling regulations.

Free enterprise is not so free anymore in some cities across the U.S. Not only do entrepreneurs have to deal with burdensome Federal and State taxes and regulations, but they also have to overcome City and County taxes and regulations. Have big government regulations on small businesses gone way overboard? The answer is a resounding Yes! Americans need economic freedom and free enterprise to ignite the engines of small business job growth. [more...]

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

In a recent set of articles and editorials appearing in The Wall Street Journal, inflation, the devaluation of the dollar, and the state of the American economy - all are at the top of the news right now. With high unemployment - nearly 15 million unemployed - and about one in seven Americans unable to find full-time jobs, the economy is on people’s minds. Now, there’s new news that inflation - under control for the last few years - is about to take off. Is this true? Is America about to be hit with inflation? Let’s talk about it now...

QE2 is the key term. What is it? In this case, it doesn’t refer to a ship. QE2 stands for “quantitative easing.” That’s a fancy term for a monetary policy of easy money. How does QE2 work? The Fed buys U. S. Treasury Bonds and other assets, increasing its balance sheet. More importantly, at the same time the Fed spends more money, it increases the money supply. From economics, we know when there are more dollars chasing after goods and services, prices for goods and services go up. That’s inflation. [more...]

Today, America is at an extremely critical juncture in our history. We are a prosperous nation on the brink of economic decline. We are currently in the midst of an exceptionally weak recovery, following the worst recession since the Great Depression. America is following a set of high tax and reckless spending policies that are creating astoundingly high deficits and unsustainably high debt levels. Unemployment is very high at 9.6% with the very real possibility it will increase to 11.5% in 2011.

The dollar appears to be weakening and might even be abandoned as the reserve currency of the global economy. Gold, a potential safe haven in times of fear, is soaring to incredible heights, indicating the skeptical outlook of the American people. It looks as if America might be teetering on the verge of a second Great Recession in 2011 or worse. Is the economy really all that bad? Can we do anything about the economy?

Indeed, all these questions, all these debates, and all these battles, hinge on two competing economic visions when considering whether America can still live the "good life." What are these two economic visions? What economic vision will America choose? Dr. Lameiro believes we do have a choice.

Choosing the Good Life shines a bright light on one of the greatest issues of the 21st century. It also tees up one of the most vitally important decisions you will ever make as a citizen. Indeed, this book presents the two distinct and competing economic visions for what constitutes the "Good Life."

These economic visions represent two different economic systems, two different ways of looking at life, and two different ways of living life. In fact, they are based on two opposing philosophies of life.

Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, each economic vision is fighting for your support. Your choice of economic visions will help to determine whether America will grow or decline; whether we will live in prosperity or struggle with poverty and whether we will live in peace or at war. You have enormous power as a citizen to influence, shape and decide America's future. Truly, your choice and the choices of millions of other citizens will ultimately impact and help to determine which economic vision will become reality in America and in the world.

While this book addresses citizens in America in the early 21st century, its principles and knowledge apply equally well across both time and space. The ideas within Choosing the Good Life can be applicable to citizens in other nations today, too, and likely will be relevant for generations of citizens to come in the future. In that sense, it is a classic book on economic freedom.

Written by Gerard Francis Lameiro, America's Citizen-Philosopher, this book brings with it Dr. Lameiro's engaging and award-winning style, his optimistic vision, and his uncanny ability to make the complex very simple. Downloadable at Amazon for Kindle, it's the most important book you'll read in a long time.

We are now facing the worst economic disaster in history - worse even than the Great Depression. I’ve warned for two years now that the real estate picture is far worse than most Americans understand. The foreclosure disaster we’ve seen is only the tip of the iceberg. At the moment, 30% of all mortgages across the country are underwater. The so-called “shadow inventory” (homes in foreclosure or far behind on payments) is already 11 million homes and growing. And millions of additional homes will soon fall into foreclosure.

Yet the bigger disaster is the commercial real estate market. Banks have been hiding this tragedy by extending loans on properties that are no longer worth ten cents on the dollar. Many commercial properties have lost most or all of their tenants, and haven’t made mortgage payments in months, if not years. Yet by extending the loans, banks have hidden the disaster unfolding on their books. Make no mistake, commercial real estate loans - shopping centers, malls, strip malls, office buildings - will face foreclosure in unimaginable numbers over the next 5 years. Each new wave will cripple the U.S. economy more. [more...]

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Donald L. Luskin presents powerful evidence in The Wall Street Journal this week that the current stock market is tracking very closely to the stock market in the 1930's. Of particular concern are two critical economic policies that might help trigger another Great Recession in 2011. Remember, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced a month ago that the recent recession was over. But, two critical economic policies that might propel America into another Great Recession in 2011 are higher taxes and higher barriers to free trade (also known as protectionism). Are we heading into another Great Recession in 2011? [more...]